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Photographers looking to upgrade to Mac OS X 10.6 “Snow Leopard” should check to see if any of the applications they use have compatibility issues with the new OS. A good site that lists applications and compatibility is Snow Leopard Compatibility. In particular, photographers should note that Nikon doesn’t recommend updating yet, and CaptureOne currently requires a workaround. Also, there were rumors that Adobe Creative Suite 3 (including Photoshop) wouldn’t work on Snow Leopard, but those rumors have been debunked.

Wetpixel is proud to sponsor the Maui Photo Festival & Workshop, which is offering unique opportunities for underwater photography enthusiasts. International underwater photographer David Fleetham, together with C3 Submerged and Lahaina Divers, will conduct two underwater photo tours as part of the five-day festival, set to take place September 16-20, 2009 at the Hyatt Regency Maui.

These two underwater tours are available at special pricing to registered Maui Photo Festival attendees. Complete festival information and registration can be found at www.mauiphotofestival.com or contact Paul Grigsby at Maui Digital Imaging at +1-808-661-9570.

Visions in the Sea is a festival of underwater photography being held in Manchester, England in November. There is a fantastic line-up of presentations, in-water tuition, a competition, exhibition and gala dinner. The whole event is in aid of the Shark Trust. This exciting weekend is being hosted by Frogfish Photography and Ocean Optics.

Anna DeLoach just wrote in with news that CBC will be airing a segment tonight on lionfish in the Bahamas. Efforts to create a lionfish fishery in the Bahamas are underway in an attempt to control the massive potential devastation that an introduced predator can have on fragile ecosystems.

“We cannot offer a natural predator for lionfish,” he says, “which is a real concern. It also increases the importance that we become a predator of lionfish and that we provide that mortality to keep their population in check.”

Morris says that the only long-term solution to the lionfish problem may be the creation of a formal fishery, making it possible that one day this colorful predator may be coming to a supermarket near you.

In a rare trip only offered once or twice a year, dive instructor and videographer John Foxhall will be running a 5-day liveaboard dive trip to the Channel Islands aboard Truth Aquatics’ vessel, the Vision, this coming September 3-8, 2009. The vessel departs from Santa Barbara, but John will be driving a huge van down from San Jose, with plenty of room for guests.

This is a fantastic opportunity for experienced divers who want an extended trip to the Channel Islands. It is also a good opportunity to get trained in a drysuit (John has plenty of high-quality rentals, and he trained me in one!), or to check out underwater photography for the first time (John will be bringing some underwater point & shoot cameras from Intova). Continue reading for full trip details…

The new Canon G11 has popped onto everyone’s radars and for some very good reasons. The Canon Powershot G11 features a RAW mode, 28mm wide-angle lens, 2.8 in. Vari-Angle PureColor System LCD along with the all-new High Sensitivity System and high-speed ISO. It also has some really hot styling around a very modern digital camera. In compact-camera underwater photo contests, images taken with Canon G-series cameras have almost always won, so this camera is one that underwater photographers will be really interested in.

The G11’s biggest talking point seems to be the drop in megapixels from the G10 and G9. However most folks who are discussing this think it is a good thing and will bring about improved image quality rather than focusing only on more pixels. Head to the Wetpixel forums and let us know what you think about the G11!

The 10th Annual San Diego UnderSea Film Exhibition 2009 will take place on September 11th & 12th, Friday & Saturday. The exhibition will have many presentations of underwater digital video in San Diego that emphasize the enjoyment and appreciation of underwater images. The event offers affordable tickets, with no prizes except the fun of sharing one’s film with an appreciative audience, and an independent film selection process that has included judges who are among the top in the field of underwater imaging. It’s a labor of love by all involved!

The event program is available online. Both evenings will have completely unique programs with different videos on show. You can purchase tickets for one night or both nights at the SDUFEX website.